By Meryl Streep has had enough of the “chick flick” label — and she’s not holding back. In a candid appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, the three-time Oscar winner revealed that The Devil Wears Prada was nearly starved of its budget two decades ago because Hollywood executives dismissed it as a film for women. Now, with the sequel arriving May 1, 2026, things have changed dramatically.
The “Chick Flick” Label That Held Back The Devil Wears Prada
When The Devil Wears Prada hit theaters in 2006, it starred Meryl Streep as the ruthless fashion editor Miranda Priestly and Anne Hathaway as her overwhelmed assistant Andy Sachs. The film became a cultural phenomenon, grossing over $326 million worldwide on a modest budget.
But behind the scenes, securing that budget was a fight.
Streep confirmed that the original film was categorized as a “chick flick” by studio executives, and that designation directly impacted how much funding it received. The implication was clear: movies centered on women were seen as a niche risk, not a mainstream opportunity.
“I mean, 20 years ago it was categorized as a ‘chick flick’ and that designation has kind of not worn well,” Streep told Colbert, noting the studios were repeatedly caught off guard by the audience hunger for female-led stories.
The message from Hollywood at the time was simple, if misguided: female stories don’t sell. Streep and her producers had to fight for every dollar.
How Barbie and Mamma Mia Changed Everything
The industry has since received several loud, undeniable corrections. Films like Barbie and Mamma Mia! didn’t just perform well — they obliterated box office expectations and rewrote how studios think about female-centered stories.
Streep pointed to both Barbie and Mamma Mia as films that “completely caught the studios by surprise” — proof that audiences actively want to see stories with women at the center.
The success of Barbie alone — which grossed over $1.4 billion globally in 2023 — made it nearly impossible for studios to continue dismissing female-led films as low-priority projects. The data was no longer a suggestion. It was a verdict.
Streep’s point is not just historical — it’s structural. The “chick flick” label wasn’t a neutral descriptor. It was a funding mechanism that systematically underpaid projects featuring women, regardless of their commercial potential.
Streep’s Conversation With Greta Gerwig
Meryl Streep didn’t stop at citing examples. She shared that she had a personal conversation with Barbie director Greta Gerwig about the same pattern of studio bias.
Streep revealed she had spoken with Gerwig directly, who confirmed that Barbie also faced a lower budget compared to what studios typically spend on similar-scale productions — despite the film’s massive commercial potential.
The detail is striking. Even one of the most commercially successful films of the decade was undervalued before it opened. It reinforces Streep’s broader argument: studios consistently underestimate the financial power of women-led films, even when evidence repeatedly suggests otherwise.
Streep is also rumored to be working with Gerwig on Netflix’s upcoming Narnia adaptation, which would mark another high-profile collaboration between two of Hollywood’s most respected names.
Devil Wears Prada 2: This Time, the Studio Spent Big
The contrast with the sequel could not be sharper. The Devil Wears Prada 2 is directed by David Frankel and written by Aline Brosh McKenna — the same creative team behind the original — and reunites Streep and Hathaway ahead of its May 1, 2026 theatrical debut.
This time, there was no scramble for funding.
Streep told Colbert the sequel focuses on Streep and Hathaway’s characters navigating the current print journalism crisis — and that 20th Century Studios did not hold back on the budget. Her verdict, delivered with characteristic wit: “This one, honey, they spent the money.”
The shift reflects something real. A sequel to a beloved, culturally embedded female-led film — arriving in the post-Barbie era — commands a different conversation in boardrooms than the original did in 2004.
The sequel is also arriving at a significant cultural moment. Print media is in genuine crisis, major newspapers have shuttered or gone digital-only, and the fashion industry continues its complicated reckoning with relevance. Setting The Devil Wears Prada 2 against that backdrop gives the story immediate contemporary weight.
What the Box Office Data Says
Streep’s comments aren’t just subjective — they’re supported by current market performance. Despite a notable decline in films directed by women in 2025, box office trends indicate that female audiences are consistently turning out for female-focused releases.
Margot Robbie and Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights drew a 74% female opening weekend audience share, generating $38 million domestically and $83 million globally in its debut weekend.
That kind of data makes the old “chick flick” dismissal look increasingly indefensible. The audience has been there all along. The studios are catching up.
The challenge now is whether this shift is permanent or cyclical. Industry analysts note that female-led films still face steeper marketing scrutiny and lower baseline budgets than comparable male-led productions. The Devil Wears Prada 2 budget is a positive signal — but a single data point is not a systemic change.
Miranda Priestly’s Real-World Inspiration
During her Late Show appearance, Meryl Streep also offered a glimpse into how she built one of cinema’s most iconic characters. Streep reflected on how she shaped Miranda Priestly and how societal perceptions of female-centric stories have evolved since the original film’s 2006 release.
Miranda Priestly remains one of the most studied characters in film — a woman who wields power in a world designed to diminish her, using precision and control as her armor. The character drew wide comparisons to Vogue editor Anna Wintour, though Streep has consistently said the role pulled from multiple sources.
What made Priestly resonate wasn’t villainy for its own sake. It was the recognition that powerful women are penalized differently than powerful men — a theme that lands differently in 2026 than it did in 2006.
What Comes Next for Meryl Streep
Beyond The Devil Wears Prada 2, Meryl Streep’s schedule is notably full. She is rumored to be returning to the Mamma Mia! franchise for a third installment, with multiple cast members including Amanda Seyfried publicly expressing confidence that the project is moving forward.
Seyfried told Entertainment Tonight that the threequel appears to be “a done deal,” signaling that another chapter of the ABBA-scored franchise may be closer than fans expect.
For Streep, the moment reflects a career that continues to operate at the highest level of Hollywood — and a voice that carries real weight when it calls out systemic bias in the industry. Her Late Show comments weren’t a complaint. They were a calculation: naming the problem clearly, with receipts, right before a major sequel opens.
The “chick flick” label may not have worn well. But Meryl Streep certainly has.
The Devil Wears Prada 2 opens in theaters on May 1, 2026. Stay tuned for our full review closer to release. If you enjoyed this piece, explore our coverage of other major Hollywood releases this summer.
